The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 passes House Judiciary Committee The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 6598), a bill that would criminalize the sale and transportation of horses for the purposes of slaughter, was approved and recommended to the House of Representatives by the House Judiciary Committee on September 23. The bill passed by a voice vote. The bill must still be passed by the House and Senate before it can become law, but it’s re-energized the issue of horse slaughter in this country. While there are currently no equine slaughter facilities in the United States, thousands of American horses are exported for slaughter to Mexico and Canada each year. H.R. 6598 would make horse transport to these countries for slaughter illegal. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), a non-profit group that supports passage of The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, has publicly commended the bill’s sponsors--Committee Chairman John Conyers, lead cosponsor Representative Dan Burton and Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott--for their “swift shepherding” of the legislation through the Judiciary Committee....